Engine intake control system

ABSTRACT

An engine intake control system that includes a first intake passage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portion opening in a surge chamber, a second intake passage that has an upstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose the downstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap, and a sleeve-shaped valve body slidably fitted around the downstream end portion of the first intake passage and moving between a first position in which it is distanced from the upstream end portion of the second intake passage and a second position in which it is in contact with the upstream end portion, wherein a linear motion guide bearing system is provided between an intake manifold and the valve body, a rail of the linear motion guide bearing system extending in a direction of movement of the valve body is secured to a support post fixedly provided on the intake manifold, and a slider movably straddle-mounted on the rail is secured to the valve body. Thereby an engine intake control system can realize smooth movement of a valve body even with lower machining precision for sliding faces of a first intake passage end portion and the valve body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an engine intake control system inwhich a surge chamber communicating with an air inlet, a first intakepassage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portionopening in the surge chamber, and a second intake passage that has anupstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose thedownstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap and adownstream end portion connected to an intake port of an engine areformed in an intake manifold mounted on the engine, a sleeve-shapedvalve body is slidably fitted around one of the opposing end portions,that is, the first intake passage end portion, of the first and secondintake passages, the valve body moving between a first position in whichthe valve body is distanced from the other of the opposing end portions,that is, the second intake passage end portion, and a second position inwhich the valve body is in contact with the second intake passage endportion, and an actuator is connected to the valve body via a valveoperating system for operating the valve body.

2. Description of the Related Art

Such an engine intake control system is already known, as disclosed inJapanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-224670.

In such an engine intake control system, since the first intake passageend portion also functions as a guide member for guiding movement of thevalve body, in order to guarantee smooth movement of the valve body itis necessary to control a sliding gap therebetween appropriately andhigh machining precision is required, but since the first intake passageend portion and the valve body have a large diameter, maintaining highmachining precision for sliding faces thereof reduces the productivityand gives rise to high cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of suchcircumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide an engine intakecontrol system of the above type that can realize smooth movement of avalve body even with lower machining precision for sliding faces of afirst intake passage end portion and the valve body.

In order to achieve the object, according to a first feature of thepresent invention, there is provided an engine intake control system inwhich a surge chamber communicating with an air inlet, a first intakepassage that has an upstream end portion and a downstream end portionopening in the surge chamber, and a second intake passage that has anupstream end portion opening in the surge chamber so as to oppose thedownstream end portion of the first intake passage across a gap and adownstream end portion connected to an intake port of an engine areformed in an intake manifold mounted on the engine, a sleeve-shapedvalve body is slidably fitted around one of the opposing end portions,that is, the first intake passage end portion, of the first and secondintake passages, the valve body moving between a first position in whichthe valve body is distanced from the other of the opposing end portions,that is, the second intake passage end portion, and a second position inwhich the valve body is in contact with the second intake passage endportion, and an actuator is connected to the valve body via a valveoperating system for operating the valve body, wherein a linear motionguide bearing system for guiding the valve body in a direction ofmovement thereof is provided between the intake manifold and the valvebody, a rail of the linear motion guide bearing system extending in thedirection of movement of the valve body is secured to a support postfixedly provided on the intake manifold, and a slider of the linearmotion guide bearing system movably straddle-mounted on the rail issecured to the valve body.

With the first feature of the present invention, since the linear motionguide bearing system for guiding linear movement of the valve bodybetween the first and second positions is provided between the intakemanifold and the valve body, the valve body can smoothly move betweenthe first and second positions without galling against the first intakepassage end portion occurring, thus enhancing the responsiveness ofoperation. It is thus possible to control a sliding gap appropriatelyand easily while lowering the precision of machining of sliding faces ofthe first intake passage end portion and the valve body, and not onlydoes this serve to a reduction in cost due to improvement ofproductivity, but it is also possible to improve the responsiveness ofoperation due to the driving force for the valve body decreasing andreduce the size of the actuator by a corresponding proportion.

According to a second feature of the present invention, in addition tothe first feature, the valve body is of a multiple connected type inwhich a plurality of valve bodies arranged along a direction in whichthe intake ports of the multi-cylinder engine are arranged areintegrally connected to each other via a bridge, the slider is securedto a central bridge positioned in a central part of the multipleconnected valve bodies, and this slider is placed between two valvebodies connected by the central bridge.

With the second feature of the present invention, the single linearmotion guide bearing system can be as close to the center of gravity ofthe multiple connected valve bodies as possible, this enables theoperating attitude of the multiple connected valve bodies to bestabilized, and any increase in the dimensions of the intake controlsystem resulting from installation of the linear motion guide bearingsystem can be avoided as far as possible.

According to a third feature of the present invention, in addition tothe first or second feature, the valve operating system is connected tothe central bridge together with the linear motion guide bearing system.

With the third feature of the present invention, it is possible todispose the linear motion guide bearing system and the valve operatingsystem in proximity to each other, the tilt moment of the multipleconnected valve bodies due to operation of the valve operating systemcan be suppressed, and the function of the linear motion guide bearingsystem can be enhanced, thus further serving for improvement in theresponsiveness of operation of the multiple connected valve bodies.

According to a fourth feature of the present invention, in addition toany of the first to third features, a seal member is attached to theinner periphery of the valve body, the seal member being in slidableintimate contact with an outer peripheral face of the first intakepassage end portion.

With the fourth feature of the present invention, even if the precisionof machining of the sliding faces of the first intake passage endportion and the valve body is lowered, since the seal member attached tothe inner periphery of the valve body is in intimate contact with theouter peripheral face of the first intake passage end portion, when thevalve body is in the second position where it is in contact with thesecond intake passage end portion, it is possible to reliably preventair from leaking from the surge chamber to the second intake passagethrough a gap between the first intake passage end portion and the valvebody.

A mode for carrying out the present invention is explained below byreference to an embodiment of the present invention shown in theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of an intake manifold comprisingthe valve operating system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 in FIG. 1 (showing a state inwhich a valve body is in a first position).

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 in FIG. 1 (showing a state inwhich the valve body is in the first position).

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 1 (showing a state inwhich the valve body is in the first position).

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part 5 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 5, showing a state in which thevalve body is in a second position.

FIG. 7 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a state in which thevalve body is in the second position.

FIG. 8 is a view, corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a state in which thevalve body is in the second position.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line 9-9 in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Firstly, in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, reference symbol M denotes an intakemanifold of a four-cylinder engine E; the intake manifold includes asurge chamber 2 having an air inlet 1 at its upper end, four parallelfirst intake passages 3 that bypass part of a lower wall of the surgechamber 2 and that have an upstream end portion 3 a and a downstream endportion 3 b opening in the surge chamber 2, and four parallel secondintake passages 4 passing through an upper wall of the surge chamber 2,an upstream end portion 4 a of the second intake passage 4 opposing thedownstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3 across a gap.This intake manifold M is mounted on one side face of a cylinder head ofthe engine E, and a downstream end portion 4 b of the second intakepassage 4 is connected to an intake port 5 of the engine E. A throttlebody (not illustrated) for regulating the amount of intake air of theengine E is mounted on the air inlet 1.

The intake manifold M is divided into an upper block Ma and a lowerblock Mb along a dividing plane in the middle of the surge chamber 2.The upper block Ma includes an upper half of the surge chamber 2 and thegroup of second intake passages 4, and is made of a light alloy or asynthetic resin, the lower block Mb includes a lower half of the surgechamber 2 and the group of first intake passages 3 and is made of alight alloy or a synthetic resin, and these two blocks Ma and Mb arejoined via a plurality of bolts or are connected together by vibrationwelding.

In the surge chamber 2, the mutually opposing downstream end portion 3 bof the first intake passage 3, which has an upward-facing attitude, andupstream end portion 4 a of the second intake passage 4, which has adownward-facing attitude, have a gap opened therebetween, and the twoare disposed so as to oppose each other across the gap. Hereinafter, thedownstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3 is called thefirst intake passage end portion 3 b, and the upstream end portion 4 aof the second intake passage 4 is called the second intake passage endportion 4 a. A valve body 8 is provided between the first and secondintake passage end portions 3 b and 4 a, the valve body 8 providingcontinuity therebetween or opening the second intake passage end portion4 a to the surge chamber 2. The first intake passage end portion 3 b isformed in a straight shape, and the second intake passage end portion 4a is formed from a funnel member 4 a secured to a lower face of theupper block Ma via a screw 9 and arranged coaxially with the firstintake passage end portion 3 b, this funnel member 4 a being moldedusing a resilient material such as rubber. Furthermore, the upstream endportion 3 a of the first intake passage 3 is also formed from a funnelmember 3 a secured to a base face of the lower block Mb via a screw 7.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the valve body 8 is formed in a sleeveshape that is axially slidably fitted around an outer peripheral face ofthe first intake passage end portion 3 b, and an annular seal member 11is attached to the inner periphery of the valve body 8, the seal member11 being in slidable intimate contact with the outer peripheral face ofthe first intake passage end portion 3 b. Four of the valve bodies 8 areintegrally connected to each other via bridges 8 a to thus form fourconnected valve bodies 8. Each valve body 8 can move between a firstposition A (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) in which it is distanced downwardfrom the second intake passage end portion 4 a and the second intakepassage end portion 4 a opens into the surge chamber 2, and a secondposition B (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 8) in which the upper end of the valvebody 8 is in intimate contact with the second intake passage end portion4 a to thus provide continuity between the first and second intakepassage end portions 3 b and 4 a, and in order to define the firstposition A for the valve body 8 a lower limit stopper 29 made of aresilient material is installed to receive the lower end of the valvebody 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 9, a linear motion guidebearing system 13 is provided between the intake manifold M and the fourconnected valve bodies 8, the linear motion guide bearing system 13smoothly guiding linear movement of the valve body 8 between the firstand second positions A and B. This linear motion guide bearing system 13includes a high rigidity support post 14 that is secured to the upperblock Ma via a bolt 31 so as to extend along a direction of movement ofthe valve body 8 and that is disposed on one side of a central part ofthe four connected valve bodies 8, a rail 15 secured to a front face ofthe support post 14 via a plurality of bolts 32 so as to extend alongthe direction of movement of the valve body 8, and a slider 16 movablystraddle-mounted on the rail 15, and this slider 16 is secured to thebridge 8 a in the central part of the four connected valve bodies 8(hereinafter, called the central bridge) via bolts 33. As shown in FIG.9, a plurality of roller rolling grooves 15 a and 16 a are formed onopposing faces of the rail 15 and slider 16 so as to extend in thelongitudinal direction of the rail 15, and these roller rolling grooves15 a and 16 a are filled with a large number of rollers 17 in multiplerows.

The linear motion guide bearing system 13 is disposed so that at leastone part thereof is placed between the two valve bodies 8 connected bythe central bridge 8 a.

A valve operating system 10 for operating the valve body 8 is explainedby reference to FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 to FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 1, adrive shaft 18 is disposed in the surge chamber 2 along the direction inwhich the four connected valve bodies 8 are arranged and on the oppositeside of the four connected valve bodies 8 to the linear motion guidebearing system 13, and this drive shaft 18 is rotatably supported by oneside wall of the upper block Ma and a support wall 20 projecting towardthe surge chamber 2 side from the upper block Ma. An actuator 21 mountedon the outside face of the upper block Ma is connected to the outer endof the drive shaft 18 so as to enable the drive shaft 18 to rotate backand forth. Any type of actuator, such as an electrically-driven type, anelectromagnetic type, or a negative pressure type is available as thisactuator 21.

As clearly shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, a drive lever 23 projectingtoward the central bridge 8 a is provided, fixed by a bolt 22, on aportion of the drive shaft 18 in proximity to the support wall 20.

On the other hand, a follower arm 24 projecting toward the drive lever23 is fixedly provided on the central bridge 8 a (see FIG. 4), and thedrive lever 23 and the follower arm 24 are connected via a link 25. Inthis arrangement, one end of the link 25 is relatively pivotablyconnected to an extremity of the drive lever via a first connectingshaft 26, and the other end of the link 25 is relatively pivotablyconnected to an extremity of the follower arm 24 via a second connectingshaft 27. The valve operating system 10 is thus connected, together withthe linear motion guide bearing system 13, to the central bridge 8 a.

The drive lever 23, the follower arm 24, and the link 25 are arranged asfollows. That is, when the valve body 8 is moved from a first position Ashown in FIG. 5 to a second position B shown in FIG. 6 by pivoting ofthe drive lever 23, the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26approaches from below a straight line 28 connecting two centers 18 c and27 c of the drive shaft 18 and the second connecting shaft 27, and afterthe valve body 8 reaches the second position B where it abuts againstthe second intake passage end portion 4 a, that is, the funnel member 4a, the drive lever 23 is further pivoted through a predetermined angle,and the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 is made to moveabove the dead point on the straight line 28 while the funnel member 4a, which is a resilient body, is compressively changed in shape. Whenthe center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26 moves above the deadpoint on the straight line 28, the valve body 8 is locked in the secondposition B, thus preventing it from moving toward the first position Aside due to its own weight or vibration.

Further pivoting the drive lever 23 through the predetermined angleafter the valve body 8 reaches the second position B means that pivotingof the drive lever 23 is stopped when it has pivoted through thepredetermined angle, and in order to stop the pivoting, a stopper bolt30 for receiving a stopper arm 23 a integral with the drive lever 23 isadjustably screwed into the upper block Ma.

The operation of this embodiment is explained.

When the engine E is running at high speed, pivoting the drive lever 23downward in FIG. 5 by the output of the actuator 21 via the drive shaft18 allows the valve body 8 to be held in the first position A where itabuts against the lower limit stopper 29. In this state, the center 26 cof the first connecting shaft 26 is positioned on the lower side of thestraight line 28 connecting the two centers 18 c and 27 c of the driveshaft 18 and the second connecting shaft 27, and the weight of the valvebody 8 works so as to press the valve body 8 against the lower limitstopper 29. It is thus possible to hold the valve body 8 in the firstposition A with a small output of the actuator 21, thereby preventingvibration of the valve body 8.

Since the valve body 8 held in the first position A in this way isdistanced from the funnel-shaped second intake passage end portion 4 a,in the second intake passage 4 the second intake passage end portion 4 aopens directly in the surge chamber 2. Therefore, in an intake stroke ofeach cylinder of the engine E, air having a flow rate controlled by thethrottle body (not illustrated) flows into the surge chamber 2 from theair inlet 1 as shown in FIG. 3, and is taken immediately into the engineE through the short second intake passage 4. The interior of the intakemanifold M thus attains a high speed intake mode that is suitable forhigh speed running, charging efficiency is enhanced by effectivelyutilizing an intake pulsation effect, and the high speed outputperformance of the engine E can be improved. In particular, since theinlet of the second intake passage 4, that is, the second intake passageend portion 4 a, has a funnel shape, the flow of intake air into thesecond intake passage 4 becomes smooth, and the intake efficiency can beenhanced.

When the engine E is running at low speed, by pivoting the drive lever23 upward, which is opposite to the above, with the output of theactuator 21 via the drive shaft 18, the valve body 8 is held in thesecond position B shown in FIG. 6. That is, the valve body 8 is held ina state in which it is in intimate contact with the inner peripheralface of the second intake passage end portion 4 a, which is formed fromthe resilient funnel member, and since this valve body 8 gives anuninterruptedly continuous state between the first and second intakepassages 3 and 4, in the intake stroke of each cylinder of the engine E,air having a flow rate controlled by the throttle body (not illustrated)flows into the surge chamber 2 from the air inlet 1 and is supplied tothe engine E through a long passage formed from the first and secondintake passages 3 and 4 and the valve body 8. Therefore, the interior ofthe intake manifold M attains a low speed intake mode that is suitablefor low speed running, charging efficiency is enhanced by effectivelyutilizing an intake inertia effect, and the low speed output performanceof the engine E can be improved.

In the process in which upward pivoting of the drive lever 23 by theoutput of the actuator 21 makes the valve body 8 rise from the firstposition A to the second position B, as described above, in the secondposition B the valve body 8 causes the funnel member 4 a, which is aresilient body, to be compressively changed in shape, the center 26 c ofthe first connecting shaft 26 moves above the dead point on the straightline 28, and the drive lever 23 makes the stopper arm 23 a abut againstthe stopper bolt 30 to thus stop pivoting thereof, thereby locking thevalve body 8 in the second position B. Therefore, following this, evenif the output of the actuator 21 is made zero or is greatly reduced, itis possible to prevent the valve body 8 from moving from the secondposition B due to its own weight or vibration.

Moreover, in the state in which the drive lever 23 abuts against thestopper bolt 30, since the downward force of repulsion of the funnelmember 4 a from the compression against the valve body 8 works as a loadto press the drive lever 23 against the stopper bolt 30, it is possibleto suppress uncontrolled movement of the drive lever 23, thus making thelocked state of the valve body 8 in the second position B more reliable.The position at which the drive lever 23 is stopped is adjusted byforward and backward adjustment of the stopper bolt 30, and this enablesthe amount by which the center 26 c of the first connecting shaft 26moves to the other side of the dead point on the straight line 28 to beadjusted.

In this way, although the self weight of the valve body 8 works so as tolower it to the first position A, since it can be locked in the secondposition B, it is possible to make the output of the actuator 21 zero orgreatly reduce it, thus greatly reducing the load on the actuator 21.Moreover, while a vehicle is running, since the low speed intake mode inwhich the valve body 8 is held in the second position B is frequentlyused, reduction of the load on the actuator 21 is more marked, thusgreatly serving for energy saving.

In order to lower the valve body 8 from the second position B and returnit to the first position A, the drive lever 23 may be pivoted downwardby the output of the actuator 21, and the center 26 c of the firstconnecting shaft 26 may be moved downward from the dead point on thestraight line 28.

Since the linear motion guide bearing system 13 for guiding linearmovement of the four connected valve bodies 8 between the first andsecond positions A and B is provided between the intake manifold M andthe four connected valve bodies 8, the valve body 8 can move smoothlybetween the first and second positions A and B without galling againstthe first intake passage end portion 3 b occurring, thus enhancing theresponsiveness of operation. It is thus possible to control a slidinggap appropriately and easily, while lowering the precision of machiningof sliding faces of the first intake passage end portion 3 b and thevalve body 8, and not only does this serve to a reduction in cost due toimprovement of productivity, but it is also possible to improve theresponsiveness of operation due to the driving force for the valve body8 decreasing and reduce the size of the actuator 21.

Moreover, even if the precision of machining of the sliding faces of thefirst intake passage end portion 3 b and the valve body 8 is lowered,since the seal member 11 attached to the inner periphery of the valvebody 8 is in intimate contact with the outer peripheral face of thefirst intake passage end portion 3 b, when the valve body 8 is in thesecond position B where it abuts against the second intake passage endportion 4 a, it is possible to reliably prevent air from leaking fromthe surge chamber 2 to the second intake passage 4 through the gapbetween the first intake passage end portion 3 b and the valve body 8.

Furthermore, since the linear motion guide bearing system 13 includesthe high rigidity support post 14 secured to the upper block Ma so as toextend along the direction of movement of the valve body 8 and disposedon one side of a central part of the four connected valve bodies 8, therail 15 secured to the front face of the support post 14 so as to extendalong the direction of movement of the valve body 8, and the slider 16movably straddle-mounted on the rail 15 and secured to the centralbridge 8 a, and the slider 16 is placed between the two valve bodies 8connected by the central bridge 8 a, the single linear motion guidebearing system 13 can be as close to the center of gravity of the fourconnected valve bodies 8 as possible; this enables the operatingattitude of the four connected valve bodies 8 to be stabilized, and itis possible to avoid as far as possible any increase in the dimensionsof the intake control system resulting from installation of the linearmotion guide bearing system 13.

Furthermore, since the linear motion guide bearing system 13 and thevalve operating system 10 are both connected to the central bridge 8 a,it is possible to dispose the linear motion guide bearing system 13 andthe valve operating system 10 in proximity to each other, the tiltmoment of the four connected valve bodies 8 due to operation of theoperating system 10 can be suppressed, and the function of the linearmotion guide bearing system 13 can be enhanced, thus further serving forimprovement in the responsiveness of operation of the four connectedvalve bodies 8.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may bemodified in a variety of ways as long as the modifications do not departfrom the gist thereof. For example, the upstream end portion 4 a of thesecond intake passage 4 may be formed in a cylindrical shape, and thevalve body 8 may be slidably fitted around the outer peripheral facethereof so as to open and close the gap between the upstream end portion4 a and the downstream end portion 3 b of the first intake passage 3.Furthermore, the present invention may also be applied to asingle-cylinder engine as well as a multi-cylinder engine other than theabove four-cylinder engine.

1. An engine intake control system in which a surge chambercommunicating with an air inlet, a first intake passage that has anupstream end portion and a downstream end portion opening in the surgechamber, and a second intake passage that has an upstream end portionopening in the surge chamber so as to oppose the downstream end portionof the first intake passage across a gap and a downstream end portionconnected to an intake port of an engine are formed in an intakemanifold mounted on the engine, a sleeve-shaped valve body is slidablyfitted around one of the opposing end portions, that is, the firstintake passage end portion, of the first and second intake passages, thevalve body moving between a first position in which the valve body isdistanced from the other of the opposing end portions, that is, thesecond intake passage end portion, and a second position in which thevalve body is in contact with the second intake passage end portion, andan actuator is connected to the valve body via a valve operating systemfor operating the valve body, wherein a linear motion guide bearingsystem for guiding the valve body in a direction of movement thereof isprovided between the intake manifold and the valve body, a rail of thelinear motion guide bearing system extending in the direction ofmovement of the valve body is secured to a support post fixedly providedon the intake manifold, and a slider of the linear motion guide bearingsystem movably straddle-mounted on the rail is secured to the valvebody.
 2. The engine intake control system according to claim 1, whereinthe valve body is of a multiple connected type in which a plurality ofvalve bodies arranged along a direction in which the intake ports of themulti-cylinder engine are arranged are integrally connected to eachother via a bridge, the slider is secured to a central bridge positionedin a central part of the multiple connected valve bodies, and thisslider is placed between two valve bodies connected by the centralbridge.
 3. The engine intake control system according to claim 1 or 2,wherein the valve operating system is connected to the central bridgetogether with the linear motion guide bearing system.
 4. The engineintake control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein aseal member is attached to the inner periphery of the valve body, theseal member being in slidable intimate contact with an outer peripheralface of the first intake passage end portion.